So... I have been working on this on and off. I am not really a guitarist, and can't find justification for spending a lot of money on a tap guitar or stick. So I decided to build one, just to see if I can do it. If it turns out even slightly passable I might make an other one, and an other, until I have a playable instrument. It all depends on how much time I have as well...

This one is my prototype, and I am making everything myself except the pickup and tuning machines. It is as simple as I can possibly get away with. The main goal with this one is to work out how to fret a guitar... I simply glued some 5 mm metal rods on a plank. I may do some modifications on it as I go along, we will see.

That's neat! I was going to mention Krappy guitars but then saw your info at the bottom already referencing them. Have a look over at www.tappistry.org. They have a DIY section on making tapping instruments (touch-style, free-hands - what ever method you want to use... a LOT of BS goes on about what to call it)

The frets on the newest Chapman Sticks are called 'Fret Rails' (tm Stick Enterprises) and are really not much more then 1/4" square stainless steel with one corner milled off. I really like them - accurate and tall. But you would have to get a custom router bit made to cut the slot in the wood to mount them.

What scale are you going to make it?

BTW - there was a guy posting at Tappistry by the name of R.J Goos - his prototypes actually ended up inspiring Megatars newer economy tapping instrument (the Zen-Tapper). It's kind of ugly (to my eyes) but does go to prove it can be done._________________Dave
www.davesneed.comwww.myspace.com/desneedLast edited by DES on Sun May 08, 2011 8:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

Dave, I have had a look around over on Tappistry in the past and found some useful bits there - the DIY section is not very active though...

The scale is about 31 inches (79 cm). I wanted to make it a bit longer than a standard guitar for various reasons, mostly to allow for deeper tuning, kind of a baritone range.

I actually meant to say Touch Style in the first post but forgot heheh. I made it to be played more like a keyboard, flat on the lap or a table - which I find easier than normal guitar style playing._________________Muied Lumens Base Star

Still working on it... I lost my camera it seems, I had some pictures there with strings on to test - after that I decided to make a new bridge and make it lower. That's done, so now I will have to fine tune the bridge a bit and work out where to stick the pickup. Once I have an idea (probably around the 24th fret position) I will put it on and post some examples.

I am working late a lot these days though, which makes it more difficult to work on the guitar, so progress is slower than it needs to be. But that's life._________________Muied Lumens Base Star

Just got back into my electronics/metal shop and started cleaning up / organizing...again. Have to get out to the garage and get my wood working tools back up to snuff now that winter is over. Just have to wait for the rain to stop for a little while.

Hey Rob if you get into these sticks, let me put together an Own Your Tone pickup system for one of them. I'd like to make a solar powered amplifier to capture the full sound of the bass. Don't worry, it will have a storage cap to keep it running through the night and in dark clubs. I can do this either monophonic or polyphonic or both if you like.

Please keep in mind though that I am moving house soon and won't have a workshop there. It will probably be a long time before I will have any facilities to make any "proper" instruments even if I had the skills and tools for it, which I currently don't. This is not a commercial project, it is just something I am doing because I can. I still have no idea how well it will work, and have made a couple of fairly serious mistakes - I am a long way from becoming a luthier.

Very Nice Rob! It came out realy well. With regards to the jack....I don't know how thick the wood under the bridge area is, but you might want to see if a jack plate from a Stratocaster could be imbedded in the side. Use a Forstner drill bit to bore the hole to fit the jack and plate in. A jack plate should only be a couple of dollars and will protect your connection. You drill a hole from the pickup cavity to the hole drilled for the jack.

I completely agree, and will get a recessed jack - but probably for the next version. This one is not really meant for anything other than getting started somewhere and the only thing I bought (apart from the wood) is the rod to make the frets out of. Total cost for this instrument amouts to about £7 if you exclude bits and pieces I had lying around and the parts I borrowed from other guitars. I will probably return those parts when done and start afresh on a new instrument where I will pay a lot more attention to it being a playable instrument. At that point I will buy original parts and even rehearse the presision building stages like fretting and related things.

For the time being I have no workshop, and it will be a while before I get one, so I have lots of time to plan it out and decide on a design. I also have a few other more experimental ideas I'd like to pursue.

I will however work a little more on this model to perfect the bridge as much as possible and see if I can can get it intonated properly._________________Muied Lumens Base Star

(touch-style, free-hands - what ever method you want to use... a LOT of BS goes on about what to call it)

BTW - there was a guy posting at Tappistry by the name of R.J Goos - his prototypes actually ended up inspiring Megatars newer economy tapping instrument (the Zen-Tapper). It's kind of ugly (to my eyes) but does go to prove it can be done.

Dr. Goos is a dear friend of mine.. he's also a registered member here on electro-music.. he was in the chat for this past new years concert... anyway, his tap ladder is a very nice minimalist design... you'll find everything you need to build one in isle #5 at home depot

furthermore.. on the subject of tap guitars in electro-music land... one of my music heroes, Frank Jolliff is now playing in the band Artcrime with Darren Bergstein... we'll hear them at electro-music 2011 _________________*****************
soundcloudrelaxedmachinery

I don't really know that much about this tapping world, but that, on the face of it, seems way overpriced to me.

It's far from the only instrument which has tickled that reaction out of me (which is partly why I am rolling my own), but then again... Tradesmen repairing our roller shutters the other day charged us more per hour than I would expect to pay a lawyer.

Don't get me wrong... I see some really beautiful creations which are clearly works of art. In a few cases they are even underpriced as far as I can tell with my limited knowledge._________________Muied Lumens Base Star

Dr. Goos is a dear friend of mine.. he's also a registered member here on electro-music.. he was in the chat for this past new years concert... anyway, his tap ladder is a very nice minimalist design... you'll find everything you need to build one in isle #5 at home depot

What's his user name here? I would like to say hello!

D.Miñoza wrote:

furthermore.. on the subject of tap guitars in electro-music land... one of my music heroes, Frank Jolliff is now playing in the band Artcrime with Darren Bergstein... we'll hear them at electro-music 2011

WOW! When did Frank start playing again? I had contacted him through his website several years ago hoping to take some lessons and when he finally got back in touch he said he wasn't playing anymore. He was working on an MLS degree in the town practically right next door to me! No amount of begging got him interested in teaching though... This will be a real treat to hear them play!_________________Dave
www.davesneed.comwww.myspace.com/desneed

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